Snowing in Prospect Park, Brooklyn (PHOTOS/VIDEO).

Thursday, December 10, 2020. New York City – On Wednesday, December 9, 2020, we got some snow in New York City. I love snow!

I went to Prospect Park in Brooklyn to take some pictures and make a video.

Watch the video. Activate subtitles/closed captions for your language. You can find them on settings.

Snowing, working and eating tamales and champurrado in NYC.

One of the reasons I love New York City, it is because I can enjoy the four seasons of the year: Spring, Summer, Autumn (also known as Fall) and Winter.

It is still Fall but we got snow. It is common that we get snow in “The City that Never Sleeps” at the end of Autumn.

It was snowing and Latino men, Latina women and Black men were working outdoors. I interviewed a Black man. Video coming soon.

I got some delicious tamales and champurrado. I love Mexican food!

Things to do in Prospect Park

Nature

The Tall History of Prospect Park’s Trees: The Camperdown Elm.

“Behind the Prospect Park Boathouse, tree lovers can find an historic landmark: the Camperdown Elm. This rare, “weeping” elm defies all the usual laws of tree growth, its branches drooping almost all the way to the ground.

This unusual elm was produced in the early 19th century from the cutting of a tree with a genetic mutation from Dundee, Scotland. It lacked the gene for negative geotropism—quite literally, it didn’t know which way was up, causing the braches to grow in every which direction. When it came to the Park in 1872, it was grafted onto a normal Scotch elm tree, which had the serendipitous effect of sparing it from Dutch elm disease. The Camperdown elm has grown over the years, falling occasionally into decay, prompting community activism to save it. Today, many of the branches have props and cables to secure it, and it remains in good health under the care of Prospect Park Alliance arborists.”

In 1967, renowned poet Marianne Moore wrote a poem in the Camperdown’s honor:

I think, in connection with this weeping elm,
of ‘Kindred Spirits’ at the edge of a rockledge
overlooking a stream:
Thanatopsis-invoking tree-loving Bryant
conversing with Thomas Cole
in Asher Durand’s painting of them
under the filigree of an elm overhead.
No doubt they had seen other trees—lindens,
maples and sycamores, oaks and the Paris
street-tree, the horse-chestnut; but imagine
their rapture, had they come on the Camperdown elm’s
massiveness and ‘the intricate pattern of its branches,’
arching high, curving low, in its mist of fine twigs.
The Bartlett tree-cavity specialist saw it
and thrust his arm the whole length of the hollowness
of its torso and there were six small cavities also.
Props are needed and tree-food. It is still leafing;
still there. Mortal though. We must save it. It is
our crowning curio.

Exercise

You can ride your bike, walk, run, etc.

Animals

Some of the animals in the park are: Ducks, squirrels, owls, raccoons, swans, etc.

“Prospect Park is ideal for birding, with more than 250 species spotted each year, including migrating songbirds in spring and fall, and a large diversity of waterfowl and resident birds throughout the year. Prospect Park has been designated one of New York’s 130 Important Bird Areas (IBA), which are critical for bird conservation.”_Prospect Park

LeFrak Center at Lakeside

“The Samuel J. and Ethel LeFrak Center at Lakeside offers ice skating, figure skating, curling, and hockey in the winter, and roller skating, biking, boating and water play in the warmer months. The Bluestone Cafe at the Chase Pavilion provides light fare and beverages year round.

COVID-19 UPDATE: Please note that the LeFrak Center at Lakeside is open and operating with limited capacity and COVID-19 precautions in place, including a mask mandate and social distancing. Timed tickets are available to purchase up to one week in advance, with limited tickets set aside for on-site purchase.“

Prospect Park opened to the public on October 19, 1867. Designed by acclaimed landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted and architect Calvert Vaux, the team also behind Central Park and other major US urban parks. The Park is nearly entirely manmade.